Energy Balance
Calories are a unit of energy. How much energy you consume versus how much you expend, determines whether you lose weight, maintain weight, or gain weight. In short, in order for your weight to change, there has to be a change in your energy balance.
The First Law Of Thermodynamics
Conservation of Energy
the law of conservation of energy says that energy is neither created nor destroyed. Only converted from one form to another.
Understanding calories as a unit of energy and learning how to better balance that energy is the key to maintaining a healthy weight. It’s not about avoiding all dairy or pasta, its not about choosing sweet potatoes over pizza. You don’t need to swear off sweets for the rest of your life in order to find an energy balance that works to give you the body you desire. So don’t get caught up on the “eat this, not that” craze, or with thinking that a holiday treat will ruin all your progress. The reasons many of us are so fearful of holiday food and any surgary / highly palatable foods is because they are addictive and tend to contain a lot more calories.
An apple, for example, may have 90 calories, whereas an equal-sized slice of cake may pack triple the calorie punch. And because these high-fat, high-sugar treats tend to be far more palatable, we tend to consume more.
When we consume more, we ingest extra calories, which over time can add to our waistlines.
It’s easy for people to reason that cakes, cookies, pizza, and chips are necessarily evil and that one bite of any of these foods will have your fat cells multiplying uncontrollably. But don’t confuse correlation with causation. There are no magic fat-loss foods, just as there are no inherently fat-gaining foods. It’s all about energy balance and yes - your holiday dinners may have more calories (energy) than what you eat normally - But a day or two of excess energy will not ruin anything.
Losing, Gaining & Maintaining
Losing weight, gaining weight and maintaining weight are three different things!
Gaining Weight
Research has shown that one pound of fat is about +3,500 calories. That means you have to eat an excess of 3.5k calories in order to gain one pound of fat.
Maintaining Weight
In order to live, breathe, walk and function, your body already needs you to eat a certain number of calories just to maintain the size that it currently is. Eating to stay the same size is known as maintaining weight, and eating at maintenance. The more you weigh, the more calories (energy) your body requires to maintain your weight.
Losing Weight
Losing weight requires us to be in a calorie deficit by consuming less calories than our maintenance, by burning calories via movement, or a mixture of both. In order to lose 1lb of fat, you have to be in a deficit of ~3,500 calories.
If you have been successfully seeing the scale move and weight come off that means you have been creating a calorie deficit! That’s awesome, as it takes hard work and discipline to create a calorie deficit and change your life and habits! During the holidays, birthdays and nights out, you may be consuming more calories, but as stated above it takes +3,500 extra calories above your maintenance in order to gain fat. So you might be eating more for a day or two, when you give yourself a break and eat out, but you probably aren’t eating an additional +3,500 calories over your maintenance. So don’t freak out to much when the scale moves after a day of eating out. The fluctuations you see on the scale are ususally due to water weight, salt, bloathing etc.
Now some of us might be overeating and binge eating enough calories to actually gain weight. If this is you, some ways to lower the odds of consuming +3,500 calories over your maintenance is to be mindful and continue practicing the habits you’ve been building since the start of working with me.
1) Stay hydrated - drink water, your body needs it, its good for your skin and health AND it might make the difference between consuming more than you want to.
2) Stay mindful - this is an opportunity to practice everything you’ve been learning. Eat for enjoyment, but not to the point of being uncomfortable. You can enjoy yourself, and eat good food without it turning into a binge eating session. Mentally check in with yourself on how full you’re feeling. Remember the Hunger scale from Week 2 and practice listening to your body, stopping when youre satisfied and happy without overindulging.
3) Eat smart - think about portioning your plate into a healthy amount of protein, carbs and fats. Enjoy the sweets, but also eat some vegetables, fruit and salad. You can also save a larger portion of your calories for the holiday dinner or special occasion if that helps put your mind at ease.
There are many small things you can do to not go overboard, if that’s what you’re worried about. I would suggest enjoying the day, living life and giving yourself some slack. This may not be a day that counts towards you losing weight, but it will just be a day of maintenance (or maybe maintenance+ a little more). Either way, one day will not ruin your journey or progress, unless you let it. As discussed in Lesson 5 - it does not matter what you eat or do, on one day or one meal, what matters is what you do on average. So enjoy your holiday food and fun, but avoid letting this become a day that sets you on a spiral that goes out of control. And even if you find yourself indulging a little more than you wanted, remember that you are always just one meal, and one workout away from turning it all back around again.
Assignment
Enjoy yourself! If you havent already, give yourself a small break and breather from your daily diet / calorie plan. It’s important to practice balance and to understand that one day wont ruin your progress. You are working on building a lifestyle, and that includes balancing healthy eating and some days of a treat or two. Don’t forget to schedule your check in and keep me updated on things. I will be checking in with you to make sure that you are ready to get back on track straight away.
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